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RiffTrax
RiffTrax is riffing project started by Michael J. Nelson and Legend Films in 2006 as "Mike Nelson's RiffTrax". Initially, it focused on downloadable commentaries distributed in mp3 file format to be played in-sync with the movie being watched. Originally showcasing only Mike, he was later joined by MST3K alumni such as Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, as well as other noted internet personalities. As of 2017, full RiffTrax commentaries always feature Mike, Kevin and Bill. History In 2004, five years after MST3K ended its run, Mike Nelson began providing humorous commentaries for DVD releases by Legend Films. Six of these were released before the founding of RiffTrax in 2006, with an additional title (the Three Stooges in Swing Parade) being released afterwards. In 2009, Legend began releasing DVDs with the RiffTrax commentaries already included and the ability to watch with or without the commentary. Early releases in this series featured "three-riffer" versions of the films Mike had already riffed solo. In 2012 Nelson and other RiffTrax personnel bought RiffTrax from Legend, taking the company completely independent. As of December 2013, RiffTrax had 13 staff members.http://www.rifftrax.com/news/small-business-saturday Execution RiffTrax audio files are released in mp3 format and, in the early years, viewers had to sync the film to the audio themselves with audio clues provided by DisembAudio, to help re-sync if the viewer gets out of step. On Demand features and RiffTrax Live! After several years of providing MP3 commentary riffs of mainstream features, RiffTrax eventually got around to producing pre-packaged features where the commentary and movie are melded together for purchase (sort of like MST3k, but without skits or silhouettes on the screen). Rather than selling these films in physical form, the vast majority of RiffTrax's On Demand work is download-only, available in most of the currently accepted video formats. During the time RiffTrax was owned by Legend, they would provide the licensing allowing the releases. Starting in 2009, Mike, Kevin, and Bill began performing RiffTrax Live, simulcasting the performances to theaters across the country via Fathom Events. Most of these have been released in VOD, with several also available on DVD and/or Blu-ray. In 2017, Rifftrax made some of their material (films, shorts, and clips collections) available on the streaming service pluto.tv, which is free to watch and shows the Rifftrax with commercial interruptions. The Rifftrax are shown on a schedule and are not available to view on demand or download. Pluto.tv also has a dedicated MST3K channel. Total Riff Off In 2014, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett filmed Total Riff Off, where they applied the RiffTrax treatment to episodes from several National Geographic Channel series. Total Riff Off premiered on April 1, 2014 with three episodes in a row, each an hour in length with commercials included. ; Episodes : # "Killer Shrimp N' Friends" # "Demon Bat": includes a "Man vs. Monster" skit # "Guy and a Goose": includes skits from "Swamp Men" and "Alpha Dogs" RiffTrax Presents RiffTrax also makes available many RiffTrax Presents-branded riffs from people other than Mike, Bill and Kevin. Bridget & Mary Jo In June 2015, MST alums Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl teamed up for a new series of shorts and (eventually) feature films. These are branded as "RiffTrax Presents", but are considered a separate series from those riffs. iRiffs RiffTrax also provides the ability for anyone to produce and publish their own riff commentary of a film on the website (called "iRiffs"). Money can be charged for these commentaries as well, a percentage of which goes to RiffTrax with the rest going to the content creator. Video on demand features are also now allowed as part of iRiffs. See also *List of RiffTrax Episodes External links *RiffTrax Official Website * RiffTraxLIVE.com * MST3K episodes on RiffTrax * @RiffTrax on twitter * RiffTrax on FB * RiffTrax on Soundcloud * Total Riff Off website Category:RiffTrax Category:Other works by MST3K cast & crew Category:Shows similar to MST3K